Long-term Follow-up of Conjunctival and Corneal Intraepithelial Neoplasia Treated with Topical Interferon Alfa-2b
Received 24 March 2007; received in revised form 12 October 2007; accepted 30 October 2007. published online 09 January 2008.
Objective
To evaluate the long-term recurrence rate (>1 year) of conjunctival and corneal intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) treated with topical interferon alfa-2b.
Design
Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series.
Participants
Twenty-eight eyes of 26 patients from 2 institutions, treated between April 1997 and June 2005, with CIN lesions utilized topical interferon alfa-2b drops 4 times daily until clinical resolution was achieved.
Methods
Patients' charts and clinical photographs were reviewed, and data were analyzed.
Main Outcome Measures
All eyes were monitored for the possibility of recurrence with a minimum of 1-year follow-up from the time of documented clinical resolution.
Results
Complete clinical resolution of the CIN lesions was achieved in 27 of the 28 eyes treated (96.4%). One of the 28 eyes treated (3.6%) had only a partial response to treatment. For the 27 eyes with complete response, resolution occurred after a median of 2.0 months (range, 10 days–15 months). Eyes were treated for a median of 3.2 months (range, 1–15). Median follow-up after clinical resolution (tumor-free period) was 42.4 months (range, 14–89). One eye of the 27 analyzed (3.7%) experienced a recurrence. Side effects of treatment were limited to mild conjunctival hyperemia and follicular conjunctivitis in 3 patients (12%). In all cases, there was total resolution of the side effects within 1 month after cessation of the medication.
Conclusions
In this group of patients with CIN lesions observed for >1 year, topical interferon alfa-2b was effective in treating lesions with minimal self-limited side effects.
Available online: January 9, 2008.
1Florida Eye Microsurgical Institute, Boynton Beach, Florida.
2Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
3Duke University Eye Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Correspondence to Carol L. Karp, MD, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 900 NW 17th Street, Miami, FL 33136.
Manuscript no. 2007-396.
The authors have no financial interest in any of the products or instruments used in the study.
ABSTRACT